


Don't Burn Out On Me

by PepperF



Series: Diego whump [14]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Fire Station, F/M, Whumptober 2020, bc she's dead, but again, it didn't feel right to tag this one as Diego/Eudora, not enough to tag for, there's also some Diego/Lila at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27007414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepperF/pseuds/PepperF
Summary: There's a lot of talk about the Bravo Shift at Firehouse 63, informally known as the Umbrella Squad after some in-joke that no one remembers. They're argumentative; they're incapable of obeying any kind of chain of command, even within their own team; they're dysfunctional and disruptive......and they're the best.
Series: Diego whump [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951318
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Don't Burn Out On Me

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Bethany for the beta-read, and for appreciating my genius ideas. ;)

There's a lot of talk about the Bravo Shift at Firehouse 63, informally known as the Umbrella Squad after some in-joke that no one remembers. They're argumentative; they're incapable of obeying any kind of chain of command, even within their own team; they're dysfunctional and disruptive...

...and they're the best.

Numbers One (the lieutenant, and nominally in charge of the whole rabble) through Five are the actual fire truck crew. Six and Seven are their EMTs, and they drive the ambulance. Five was their most recent probie, which is why no one uses his real name yet, but he already knows _everything_ , and is sort of terrifying. The whole squad is terrifying, honestly, although in different ways depending on whether they're on duty (terrifyingly competent), or off (chaotic as fuck). They give the impression that they haven’t so much trained as firefighters as been born into the life, somehow. To watch them work, it's as natural as breathing.

Or that's Elliott's opinion, anyhow. He's the Civilian Liaison for the firehouse, and he does their schedules, among other things. Diego, number Two, had some time off recently following the death of his ex-girlfriend, a cop who used to drop in sometimes—nice lady, but also pretty scary, actually. They'd had an on/off relationship that ended for good a while ago, but Diego had still seemed kind of tied up about her—so of course the rumors are that Diego was either under investigation for murder, or that he'd had a breakdown and spent some time in an institution. In fact, to Elliottt's certain knowledge, Diego was suspended following a fight with the Chief, when a raw and grieving Diego gave his opinions a little too freely—but that's not for him to share. Diego is a hothead, he speaks without thinking, and he's bad at apologies, but underneath all that, he's a good guy.

And now he's back. He and his squad might argue like children most of the time, but they're the first to close ranks when one of their own is hurting, so Alpha and Charlie haven't dared say a word within earshot of any of them. Which is good, because Elliott doesn't want to have to schedule any of them for a month of nights, but if the situation calls for it... well. But it doesn't seem like the other squads he needs to keep an eye on so much as Umbrella Squad themselves. He catches the edges of bitter arguments whenever they're on shift, tension surrounding them—and around Diego in particular, like the very air is dark with his palpable bad mood.

Partly so he doesn't spend all day at his desk, Elliott has made a habit of going down to greet the teams whenever they come back off a job, which means he's there to witness the time that Diego's off the truck first, ripping off his his helmet and hurling it away so hard that it skids the length of the dock and under Charlie One. He storms towards the locker room, with Luther hot on his heels.

"Get back here!"

Allison follows, trying to scold them both at the same time. Five and Klaus climb down more slowly, and exchange a speaking look. Five goes to fetch the helmet, and Klaus gives Elliott a shrug.

"Fireman with a fiery temper. So unoriginal," he complains, and heads for the kitchen.

\---

After this, Elliott starts to consciously take note of more troubling signs. Diego’s facial hair is normally barely more than designer stubble, but he let it grow out while he was away, along with his hair. He still hasn't trimmed it, now that he's back, and he's starting to look alarmingly caveman-esque. He continues to squabble with all of his team. The arguments with Luther are no surprise—their fights were epic even before this—but Elliott sees sweet little Vanya stalking away in tears one day, and that's really not good. The guilty look disappears from Diego's face as soon as he notices Elliott watching, and he turns on his heel with a growl, kicking a tire as he walks away in the opposite direction. Klaus and Allison look pinched and tense, and Five is snappish. Ben sighs heavily a lot and keeps his head in a book.

It finally comes to a head when Bravo One comes back with just two team members on board. It was a big fire, and all three trucks were called out along with others from 62 and 64, but from what Elliott had heard on the radio, it was now under control with minimal casualties. But Allison and Klaus climb out like they're carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

"Where are the others?" He doesn't normally interact with the teams, he just makes sure they've come home safe, gives them a nod, and goes back to his paperwork—but Allison doesn't look surprised at his question. 

"At the hospital. Diego—he's—he's hurt, but we're not sure how bad. Burns, he ran into—" She pulls herself together with visible effort, while Elliott's heart sinks. "The others stayed with him. I have to get home to Claire, and Five is going to sort things out at this end and then head over to join them."

"Okay. I'm—I'm sorry," says Elliott, feeling stupid and useless. "He's a stubborn man, I'm sure he'll be fine. I'll inform the Chief, don't worry about that."

Allison smiles wanly. "Thanks, Elliott. Uh. I'd better get going, so..."

"Of course—of course, don't let me hold you up."

He makes the appropriate calls, and then sits staring at paperwork for a while.

And then he makes a decision, pushes it all into his in-tray for tomorrow, and goes to help.

\---

"I, um," he begins. It's not a strong opening, but it breaks Luther's thousand-yard stare. Elliott holds out a bag and a drink carrier. "I figured you might, you know, be hungry."

Luther takes the drinks and the Griddy's bag, and peers inside. He takes a coffee and a wrapped burger, and hands the bag and the remaning drinks down the row. Klaus, Vanya, and Ben all pull out food and grab drinks, and it's not until they're all eating that Luther apparently remembers how the food got there, and looks up. "Hey, uh—thanks, Elliott. That's really kind of you."

"No problem," he says. "I hope he's okay."

"Yeah." Luther nods—and then nods again, with determination. "He will be," he says.

\---

Diego's not back at the firehouse for two weeks, and even then he's been benched for another four to six, dependent on physio progress. But the moment he walks in, Elliott can feel the difference. The cloud is just...gone, somehow. Diego greets Luther with a heavy backslap, and does his elaborate bro-shake with Ben, and Elliott smiles to himself. Whatever was hanging around Diego, whatever misery he was living under, it's lifted, at least enough for him to see daylight, and to be walking around like he's—well, like he's alive again. There's no magic bullet for this stuff, as Elliott is well aware, but whatever went wrong, they're fixing it. 

Diego looks up and catches his eye. He nods, and Elliott returns it, and then goes back to his paperwork.

\---

_(A couple of months later, there's a knock on Elliott's door, and a bright, "Hi?" and he looks up to find a woman—dark-skinned, sharply bobbed hair, smile like a shark—standing there. The combination of her demeanour, along with her neat pencil skirt and leather biker jacket, somehow suggests that she would maintain a highly professional manner while eviscerating your entrails._

_She steps into the room and drops some papers on his desk, helping herself to the visitor's chair._

_"I'm Lila Pitts. I'm here to meet with—"_

_"Elliott, did we piss you off or something? Why the fuck are we on nights all next—oh." Diego stops in the doorway, arrested mid-step as his eyes catch on the woman. He rubs unconsciously at the neatly-shaved goatee he came in with after last weekend, and clears his throat. "Sorry, didn't know you had a...visitor?"_

_"Diego, this is Ms. Pitts, the new Fire Investigator," says Elliott, who's had a chance to look at her papers. "This says she's here to talk with the members of Bravo Squad, in fact, so maybe you could introduce her to your team?"_

_Ms. Pitts turns her smile on Diego. "Well," she says. "Isn't this an exciting coincidence?"_

_Diego scowls at her, which is rude, even for him—but she only looks more amused. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Pitts," he says, rather pointedly. He glances at Elliott, and then back at her. "Come on, I'll show you around."_

_When they leave, Elliott sighs, and goes back to scheduling. If it's not one thing, it's another.)_


End file.
